ABOUT US

PURPOSE

MISSION

BoCo Strong works to increase the web of connections among individuals, organizations and governments across Boulder County in ways that will foster inclusivity, increase disaster resilience, and build vibrant and prosperous communities. We define resilience as the capability to anticipate risk, limit impact, and bounce forward rapidly by adapting and learning in the face of disruptive shocks and stresses. Our programming seeks to support and facilitate the individual, organizational, and governmental relationships that strengthen our collective capacity in Boulder County, to maximize resources, and to prevent unnecessary duplication of efforts.

VISION

By 2025 Boulder County communities will have access to the resources and connections needed to allow all residents to adapt and thrive in the face of community stressors.

LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

RESILIENCE ASSESSMENT

VIDEO

Explore the BoCo Strong YouTube channel to find videos on resilience, explorations of resilience across Boulder County, and films of our events.

If you have any other multi-media you would like to suggest or see added to the site, then feel free to email us or leave a comment.

WHO, WHAT, WHY

BACKGROUND

BoCo Strong was created with the purpose of building a culture of resilience throughout Boulder County. It formed in the wake of the 2013 flood; beginning as a sub-committee of the long-term flood recovery group (LTFRG). After a natural disaster, the main focus is typically on restoring physical infrastructure and making it more resilient while social infrastructure is frequently ignored or forgotten. In recognition of the important role that relationships between family, friends, colleagues, and organizations play in recovery and resilience, BoCo Strong focuses on building social capital, increasing connections and fostering cooperation around already existing social networks.

BoCo Strong is comprised of representatives from Lyons, Jamestown, Boulder, Longmont and Boulder County as well as the Red Cross, and Foothills United Way.

OUR STORY

WHY FOCUS ON SOCIAL RESILIENCE?

In 2014 BoCo Strong conducted over 20 resilience conversations in flood impacted neighborhoods throughout the county. The major finding from these meetings was that neighborhoods, businesses, and communities with strong connections to nonprofits and local government recovered more quickly from the effects of the flooding. Because of this, BoCo Strong is committed to increasing the strength of social and professional ties across the county in ways that promote equitable access to resources and cross-sector collaboration in all communities.

We are always working to learn and refine our approach. Please get in touch to contribute, join the steering committee or learn more.

At this year’s Resilience Summit, we asked our attendees to commit to resilience in their everyday lives. Here’s what they came up with.

Now the question is…

What is Your Resilience Commitment?

I Commit To...Advocate for a culture of social cohesiveness and develop a neighborhood seed/plant share programI Commit To...Talk to my supervisor about having more team building days and reach out to other departmentsI Commit To...More lunches and non-work events at work and to have dinners with friends on regular basisI Commit To...Work on developing capacity by using volunteers more effectivelyI Commit To...Be the one to facilitate outside of work/school meetupsI Commit To...Have coffee with someone new once a month and plan a cross-departmental eventI Commit To...Reach out more to organizations working with the homelessI Commit To...I commit to meeting more people in City of Boulder and I will invite each town in Boulder to enter a float in the Lyons paradeI Commit To...Exploring the passport idea for Resilient Boulder and meeting 10 neighborsI Commit To...To promote wakefulness through meditation and natureI Commit To...Influence our govt organization to create interdepartmental outreach teams that reach out to neighborhoodsI Commit To...Mix up the focus of our neighborhood improvement grantsI Commit To...Get to know neighbors and make more connectionsI Commit To...Understand how to help my community and where resources are in case of a disasterI Commit To...Prioritizing face-to-face networking and information-sharingI Commit To...Seek town leadership support for neighborhood gatheringsI Commit To...Create a place where passion for connections can flourish and foster group sharing/reflection on resilienceI Commit To...Define resilience and what it means to us, to put a plan in writing, practice it, revisit it; and to develop qualitative and quantitative evaluation